Saturday, 10 July 2010

Brazil has recently amended its copyright law. The text can be found in Portuguese here. In a recent post, Canadian Professor Michael Geist has underlined the adequacy of the amendment introduced by the Brazilian legislator in relation to anti-circumvention activities. According to Geist: "[the amended Law] permits circumvention for fair dealing and public domain purposes, [and] it establishes equivalent penalties for hindering or preventing the users from exercising their fair dealing rights. This amendement is similar to the doctrine sustained by the Cadanian Supreme Court in "Theberge" Case.

Geist provides a translation to English of the concerned provision:"Art. 107. The same sanction applies, without prejudice to other sanctions set forth by law, to whom, through whatever means:

a) hinders or prevents the uses allowed by arts. 46, 47 and 48 of this Act [which addresses limitations to copyright including fair dealing]; or

b) hinders or prevents the free use of works, broadcast transmissions and phonograms which have fallen into the public domain".